Axially actuated valve for dispensing pressurized product

ABSTRACT

An axially actuated valve for use in a pressurized container that is easily actuated and controlled by a user to dispense the amount of product desired. The valve stem is moved in an up and down direction so that when dispensing, the user can control the amount of the valve openings that are in communication with the material to be dispensed. A resilient grommet surrounds the valve stem and has a recessed portion in its base that receives the valve stem button when the valve is in the closed state. The grommet has a squared off interior annular lower corner. This provides a grommet surface that is flush with the valve stem. This design permits use of a minimum size button and also facilitates user metered dispensing. The stem may have openings partially tapered in the form of an inverted truncated pyramid to facilitate user control of the dispensing of product.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 10/882,625 filed Jun. 30, 2004, which in turn is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/816,929 filed Apr. 2, 2004, now abandoned which in turn is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/285,238 filed Oct. 31, 2002, now abandoned the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an axially movable valve used for dispensing product from a pressurized container and more particularly to an axially movable valve for use that is easily actuated and controlled by a user to dispense the amount of product desired.

Hand held pressurized dispensing containers having a tilt action valve assembly have been known for a long time. Applicant's U.S. Pat No. 5,785,301 and No. 6,425,503 are representative of prior art valve designs for use in these pressurized dispensing containers. When the valve is tilted, at least one full opening is exposed to the contents of the container. The contents, under pressure from a piston or a bag in a pressurized container, will be dispensed through the openings in the valve stem. The above references teach a number of tilt valves for hand-held pressurized dispensing containers. One problem with the tilt valve for dispensing pressurized product is that it is hard for the user to control the amount of product dispensed. The tilt valve does not allow the user to maintain the valve consistently partially open.

It has been found that axially actuated valves also known as up/down valves can be actuated by a lever which permits the user to control the valve so that the product flow can be determined by the user. Also, the axially actuated valve allows the user to consistently keep the valve partially open or partially closed for a period of time. Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,103 illustrates an axially movable valve.

A major object of this invention is to provide a personal dispenser container design in which the user can reliably and readily control the magnitude of the output and thus the size of the output bead.

It is a related object of this invention to obtain this reliable control in a design which maintains the cost of the valve and discharge mechanism at a level such that adoption of the invention for its enhanced dispensing performance will be a cost-effective choice for the user.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a valve that can only be moved in an axial or up/down direction to assure valve stability and prevent unwanted discharge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The axially actuated valve comprises an axially moveable valve element and an annular resilient sealing grommet. The axially movable valve element has a stem with a wall defining a main passageway having an axis. The valve element has an actuating flange extending radially out from an intermediate portion of the stem and has a button at the base of the stem. There are two dispensing openings through the wall of the valve stem near the base of the valve stem. The valve has a normal closed state and a variable opening dispensing state.

The annular resilient sealing grommet surrounding the valve stem has an upper edge that during dispensing of product engages the valve actuating flange. The grommet has a recess in its base into which the button of the stem fits when the valve is in its closed state. The annular corner where the upper surface of the button joins the valve stem is rounded slightly to enhance annular engagement with the grommet and ensure sealing when the valve is in its closed state.

In one embodiment, openings in the stem of the valve are partially tapered to enhance user control of the flow of the dispensed product. The tapered openings are particularly useful for discharging low viscosity material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation view in partial longitudinal section of an embodiment of a valve assembly (shown in detail in FIG. 4 as elements 24,26,27) mounted on a pressurized container 12. FIG. 1 shows the valve assembly in an enabled state with the nozzle 14 screwed up so that the valve is enabled to be depressed into a dispensing state.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 except that the valve assembly is axially depressed into a dispensing state.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 except that the nozzle 14 is screwed down to where the lever 16 cannot be actuated. This is the closed and disabled state in which the container is usually shipped and stored.

FIG. 4 illustrates a more detailed view of the valve assembly 24,26,27 in its non-dispensing state.

FIG. 5 illustrates the valve 24,26 in a dispensing state. FIG. 5 is at a somewhat larger scale than is FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates one specific embodiment of the truncated inverted quasi-pyramid shaped side wall openings 38 of the valve stem 30.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section through the sealing grommet 26 illustrating the slits 48 in the sidewall of the boot portion 42. FIG. 7 shows the grommet configuration in the closed state of the valve.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7 except that FIG. 8 shows the grommet configuration when the valve is depressed into a full dispensing state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 through 3 show a valve assembly mounted on a container 12. The product in the container 12 is maintained under pressure, typically by a pressurized piston or pressurized bag (not shown). When the valve assembly is depressed, material is dispensed from the container through the valve assembly and nozzle 14. An actuating lever 16 enables manual depression of the valve assembly. The lever 16 is mounted on a base 18 for rotation about a pivoting axis at 20. The base 18 is mounted on the top of the container 12. A nozzle cap 15 covers the dispensing end of the nozzle when not in use.

The forward portion of the lever 16 has a tubular pivoting element (not shown) which permits pivoting the lever relative to the base 18. The handle portion 22 of the lever 16 is in the vertical position shown in FIG. 3 during storage and shipment when the nozzle 14 is screwed down on the valve stem so that the valve cannot be actuated. When the nozzle is screwed up on the valve stem 30 to prepare for dispensing product, the lever 16 is in the FIG. 1 position and the handle 22 is at an angle as shown. When dispensing product, the handle 22 can be rotated down to the vertical position shown in FIG. 2 or to any intermediate position that the user wishes so as to control the amount of product dispensed. The lever 16 abuts a ledge 28 on the nozzle 14 to force the nozzle down and open the valve.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a more detailed view of the valve assembly. The valve includes two primary components. They are: a substantially annular valve element 24 and an annular resilient sealing grommet 26. The valve assembly also includes the cup 27 that holds the valve on the container 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lever 16 is positioned to engage a ledge 28 on the nozzle 14. The nozzle 14 in turn engages the valve stem 30 to move the valve 24, 26 from its FIG. 1/FIG. 4 closed state to a FIG. 2/FIG. 5 dispensing state.

The valve stem 30 has external threads 32 that engage internal threads on the nozzle 14. The threaded engagement permits adjusting the nozzle 14 relative to the valve element 14 so that the amount by which the lever 16 can depress the nozzle 14 and valve 24 can be selected to any point between a full open state, when the nozzle 14 is rotated up, to the closed state when the nozzle 14 is rotated down. When the nozzle 14 is threaded down so that the bottom end of the nozzle abuts the cup 27, the valve element 24 is in its non-dispensing closed state where the lever 16 is positioned as shown in FIG. 3 and no product can be dispensed. When the nozzle 14 is threaded up to either the FIG. 1 position or to an intermediate position, the lever 16 can be manually actuated to dispense product.

The lower end of the valve element 24 has a button 36 and two stem sidewall openings 38. The two openings 38 are spaced 180° from each other on the stem 30. A longitudinal passageway in the stem 30 is in communication with the sidewall opening 38 so that material in the container under pressure will be dispensed through the sidewall openings 38 and the stem passageway into the nozzle 14. A specific embodiment of a sidewall opening 38 is shown in detail in FIG. 6.

The valve stem 30 has a flange 40 that extends radially out from an intermediate portion of the stem 30 and engages the top of the boot portion 42 of the grommet 26 when the valve element is depressed. In a closed state, as illustrated in FIG. 4, there is a small gap 44 between the flange 40 and the boot 42. The gap 44 in one embodiment is about 30 mils (0.030 inches). In the closed state, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the valve stem openings 38 are not in communication with the interior of the container 12 because the resilient grommet 26 blocks the openings 38. As a result, product is not dispensed. The gap 44 means that there is no boot 42 resistance to the initial opening movement of the valve element 24. The flange 40 has a truncated (that is, not pointed) outer edge to avoid damage to the boot during assembly of stem and grommet.

The diameter of the valve stem 30 necks down slightly between the flange 40 and the line 30 a. In one embodiment, the diameter of the stem below the line 30 a is 250 mils and above the line 30 a is 230 mils. The upper end of the boot sits in the necked down area and in cooperation with a recess on the inner surface of the boot biases the boot to bow outward when the flange 40 applies pressure to the boot. The recess on the inner surface of the boot is 20 mils on a radius and is not shown in FIG. 4 to simplify presentation. The length of this necked down portion is about 40 mils. The proportions shown in the FIGs. are not to scale in order to facilitate illustrations.

FIG. 5 illustrates the valve assembly when the valve element 24 is depressed. The resilient grommet 26 surrounds the valve stem 30. The upper edge 42 t of the boot 42 engages the stem flange 40 when product is being dispensed.

The lower surface of the grommet 26 has a recess 46. The recess 46 is sized to receive the button 36 of the valve when the valve is in its closed state.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the button 36 of the valve is positioned to fit into the recess 46 when the valve is in its closed state. In one embodiment, the depth of the recess 46 is about 40 mils, the thickness of the button 36 is about 60 mils and the size of the gap 44 is about 30 mils.

When the valve is depressed through actuation of the lever 16, the boot 42 segment of the grommet 26 flexes permitting the valve 24 to move down into the container 12 sufficiently so that the openings 38 are in communication with the material to be dispensed from within the container 12. In a dispensing state, the valve ledge 40 and the upper edge of the boot 42 are engaged and the button 36 is outside the recess 46. As a result, the openings 38 are in communication with the material to be dispensed from the container 12. The pressure provided in the container forces the material in the container through the openings 38 to be dispensed via the nozzle 14.

The user can select the dispensing state so that only a portion of each opening 38 is in communication with the material. The amount of material released can be controlled by the user through the amount by which the nozzle 14 is rotated up on the stem 30.

It is preferred to keep the diameter of the valve button 36 as small as possible to minimize the force required to initially open the valve against the pressure of the contents within the container. The valve button 36 in one embodiment has a diameter of 340 mils and the valve stem has a diameter of 250 mils. The recessed portion of the boot has a diameter of 340 mils. The thickness of the valve button 36 is slightly greater than the depth of the recess.

The squaring off of the interior of the lower annular corner 26 c of the grommet is part of what permits the use of a smaller valve stem button. This smaller diameter button provides a reduction of force required to initially open the valve. The axial force required to open this up-down valve is substantially less than that required where a known type of valve stem button and grommet are used in an axially movable fashion.

The orthogonal corner 26 c of the grommet also facilitates the user's controlled metering of dispensed product. The lower portion of the interior surface of the sealing grommet 26 is flush with the lower portion of the stem 30 and thus makes possible a partial uncovering of the stem openings 38.

A further advantage of this relatively small diameter stem button 36 occurs when the nozzle is screwed down so that the nozzle bottoms out on the valve cup 27. A further tightening of the nozzle causes the nozzle 14 and valve element 24 to rotate within the grommet 26. This rotation of valve element 24 and nozzle 14 causes an occasional problem in the prior art. That problem is that when the nozzle is screwed down against the valve cup 27 and further tightened, the friction between the button 36 and the grommet 26 may prevent the valve element 24 from turning and causes what is known as cross-threading between the nozzle screw thread and the valve stem screw thread. Cross-threading is a situation in which the internal thread of the nozzle 14 climbs up or over the threads 32 of the stem 30 to create a locking condition between the nozzle and valve stem. The smaller diameter stem button 36 keeps the friction between button and grommet 26 low enough to permit rotation of valve element 24 within the grommet while great enough to maintain a sealed condition.

It should be noted that the threads of the nozzle are typically round so that they can be molded and pulled off of the core pin. The stem threads 32 are relatively square. The round nozzle threads have a tendency to ride up on the square stem threads causing cross-threading when the nozzle bottoms out and is further tightened.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the grommet 26 with the thin neck part of the boot 42. The neck of the boot 42 is not only thin but has two vertical slits 48 to facilitate compression of the boot 42 when the valve 24 is moved from its closed non-dispensing state to a dispensing state. The boot 42 when compressed is shown in FIG. 8. In one embodiment, the thickness of the thin neck segment is fifteen mils (0.015 inches). The inner surface of the neck of the boot 42 is slightly recessed to bias bowing into the outward direction as shown in FIG. 8.

The boot 42 is useful to assure that the valve returns to its closed state when a grip on the lever is released. The boot 42 brings the valve element 24 up to the point where the button 36 is about to enter the recess 46 of the grommet 26. The differential pressure on the bottom and top of the button 36 assures that the closing function will be completed. Without the boot 42, the flow of material might block or slow the closing of the valve.

To assure sealing, one preferred grommet 26 has a first small annular bump 52 on its inner surface 26 c and a second smaller annular bump 54 also on its inner surface. This first annular bump 52 extends inward by about 12 mils on a radius from the 250 mil diameter grommet interior surface 26 c and the second annular bump 54 extends inward by about five mils on a radius from the 250 mil diameter straight wall interior surface 26 c.

To further assure ease of opening, the inner surface 42 c of the boot wall is recessed beyond the 250 mil main diameter of the interior of the boot by an additional 20 mils on a radius. This assures that when the force from the flange 40 is applied to the top 42 t of the boot 42, the thin wall of the boot will be biased to bow in an outward direction.

When in the closed state, the thin wall portion of the boot 42 is spaced from the valve stem 30 by the amount of the recess and the top 42 t of the boot extends inward to contact the valve stem. The recess is 20 mils and to simplify the drawing is not shown in FIG. 4. It is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

In a dispensing state, the button 36 is outside the recess 46 and is approximately 210 mils below the base of the recess 46. The stem openings 38 are then in full communication with the material in the container. The product is dispensed via the nozzle 14 at the maximum rate. One important feature to assure sealing in the closed state is the annular corner or small fillet 50 where the valve stem 30 and the button 36 join. In one embodiment the radius of curvature of the rounded corner or fillet 50 is ten to fifteen mils.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed view of the stem 30 and the openings 38. The openings 38 are tapered and are in the approximate form of an inverted truncated pyramid. In one embodiment, the opening 38 is 90 mils at its top end and 25 mils at its lower end. The height of the openings 38 is 160 mils. The specific dimensions of one presently preferred opening 38 are shown in FIG. 6. Note that the tapering starts 30 mils below the 90 mil diameter top edge.

The valve described provides the user the ability to control the flow rate of the product and the amount of product dispensed. This is unlike the tilt valve which, as a practical matter, in use is either fully opened or fully closed. The tapered openings 38 provide the user with enhanced ability to control the amount of product dispensed. This valve design is useful for dispensing at a continuous rate the amount of product needed with the use of a lever. Use and control over the flow rate is provided by the fact that the extent to which the user depresses the valve will affect the amount of the valve opening and thus the flow rate.

The stem wall openings 38 are partially tapered and provide an essentially inverted truncated quasi-pyramid opening. This design provides the user with an ability to reliably select the size of the bead dispensed and for the user to more steadily hold the dispensing at that desired bead size. This is particularly true where the following procedure is followed. To dispense product, the nozzle is screwed upward on the valve stem to the point where the desired bead size is obtained when the lever is brought down to a position parallel with the surface of the can.

The geometry shown for these openings 38 is useful in metering the rate at which product is dispensed. This opening 38 geometry is particularly useful when dispensing the more flowable, less viscous products such as silicone and glues. The more viscous products such as gasket sealer and roofing cement can be controllably metered using rectangular openings.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that those skilled in the art will be able to make changes and modifications to those embodiments without departing from the teachings of the invention and the scope of the claims. 

1. In a pressurized dispensing container having an axially actuated valve assembly having a closed state and a range of dispensing states, the valve assembly including a valve member having a stem with at least one dispensing opening and a button at the lower end of the stem and also having a resilient annular sealing grommet around the stem, the improvement comprising: the grommet having an annular interior surface and a lower surface, said grommet surfaces having a substantially orthogonal relationship to assure flush engagement between the grommet and the valve stem down to the button upper surface and along the button upper surface when the valve is in its closed state, said grommet having a recess in its lower surface so that the button fits in the recess when the valve assembly is in its closed state.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising an annular fillet zone having a relatively small radius of curvature at the juncture between the upper surface of the button and the outer surface of the stem.
 3. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said annular grommet has an annular boot at its upper portion and said stem has an outwardly extending flange positioned to engage said boot when in the dispensing state, there being a gap between said boot and said flange when said valve is in its closed state.
 4. The improvement of claim 2 wherein: said annular grommet has an annular boot at its upper portion and said stem has an outwardly extending flange positioned to engage said boot when in the dispensing state, there being a gap between said boot and said flange when said valve is in its closed state.
 5. The improvement of claim 2 wherein: said fillet has a radius of curvature of ten mils.
 6. The improvement of claim 4 wherein: said fillet has a radius of curvature of ten mils.
 7. The improvement of claim 3 further comprising: longitudinal slots in said boot to reduce the resistance of said boot to movement of said valve from its closed state to a dispensing state.
 8. The improvement of claim 4 further comprising: longitudinal slots in said boot to reduce the resistance of said boot to movement of said valve from its closed state to a dispensing state.
 9. The improvement of claim 1 wherein: a portion of said valve stem opening is tapered in an approximately inverted pyramid shape.
 10. The improvement of claim 2 wherein: a portion of said valve stem opening is tapered in an approximately inverted pyramid shape.
 11. The improvement of claim 1 wherein: said valve button has a diameter sufficiently small so that when said nozzle bottoms out on the valve cup and is further tightened, the tightening force will overcome the friction between valve button and grommet causing the valve stem to rotate with the nozzle and avoid locking together of valve stem and nozzle due to cross-threading.
 12. The improvement of claim 2 wherein: said valve button has a diameter sufficiently small so that when said nozzle bottoms out on the valve cup and is further tightened, the tightening force will overcome the friction between valve button and grommet causing the valve stem to rotate with the nozzle and avoid locking together of valve stem and nozzle due to cross-threading.
 13. In a pressurized dispensing container having an axially actuated valve assembly having a closed state and a range of dispensing states, the valve assembly including a valve member having a stem and a button at the lower end of the stem and also having a resilient annular sealing grommet around the stem, comprising: said stem having a tapered dispensing opening; said grommet having an annular interior surface and a lower surface, said surfaces having a substantially orthogonal relationship to assure engagement between the boot and the valve stem down to the button surface when in the sealing state, the orthogonal relationship between said surfaces providing a resistance to tilting. said grommet having a recess in its said lower surface so that the button enters the recessed portion when the valve assembly is in its non-dispensing state.
 14. The improvement of claim 13 wherein: said valve button has a diameter sufficiently small so that when said nozzle bottoms out on the valve cup and is further tightened, the tightening force will overcome the friction between valve button and grommet causing the valve stem to rotate with the nozzle and avoid locking together of valve stem and nozzle due to cross-threading.
 15. In a pressurized dispensing container having an axially actuated valve assembly having a closed state and a range of dispensing states, the valve assembly including a valve member having a stem with at least one dispensing opening and a button at the lower end of the stem and also having a resilient annular sealing grommet around the stem, the improvement comprising: the grommet having an annular interior surface and a lower surface, said grommet surfaces having a substantially orthogonal relationship to assure flush engagement between the grommet and the valve stem down to the button upper surface and along the button upper surface when the valve is in its closed state, said grommet having a recess in its lower surface so that the button fits in the recess when the valve assembly is in its closed state, an annular fillet zone having a relatively small radius of curvature at the juncture between the upper surface of the button and the outer surface of the stem, said annular grommet having an annular boot at its upper portion and said stem having an outwardly extending ledge positioned to engage said boot when in the dispensing state, there being a gap between said boot and said ledge when said valve is in its closed state, longitudinal slots in said boot to reduce the resistance of said boot to movement of said valve from its closed state to a dispensing state, said valve stem having a diameter sufficiently small so that when said nozzle bottoms out on the valve cup and is further tightened, the tightening force will overcome the friction between valve stem and grommet causing the valve stem to rotate with the nozzle and avoid locking together of valve stem and nozzle due to cross-threading.
 16. In a pressurized dispensing container having an axially actuated valve assembly having a closed state and a range of dispensing states, the valve assembly including a valve member having a stem with at least one dispensing opening and a button at the lower end of the stem and also having a resilient annular sealing grommet around the stem, the improvement comprising: said valve stem opening has a portion tapered in an approximately inverted pyramid shape.
 17. The improvement of claim 16 wherein: said opening has an upper edge, a rectangular zone below its upper edge, a tapered zone below said rectangular zone, and a bottom edge substantially less than its top edge. 